The Black Company: Chronicles of The Black Company, Book 1

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead - until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more. There must be a way for the Black Company to find her....

Forge of Darkness: Kharkanas Trilogy, Book 1

Forge of Darkness takes listeners to Kurald Galain, the warren of Darkness, and tells of a realm whose fate plays a crucial role in the fall of the Malazan Empire and surrounds one of the Malazan world’s most fascinating and powerful characters, Anomander Rake. It’s a conflicted time in Kurald Galain, where Mother Dark reigns above the Tiste people. But this ancient land was once home to many a power...and even death is not quite eternal. The commoners’ great hero, Vatha Urusander, longs for ascendency and Mother Dark’s hand in marriage, but she has taken another Consort, Lord Draconus.

Orb Sceptre Throne: Novels of the Malazan Empire, Book 4

Darujhistan, city of dreams, city of blue flames, is peaceful at last; its citizens free to return to politicking, bickering, trading and, above all, enjoying the good things in life. Yet there are those who will not allow the past to remain buried. A scholar digging in the plains stumbles across an ancient sealed vault. The merchant Humble Measure schemes to drive out the remaining Malazan invaders. And the surviving agents of a long-lost power are stirring, for they sense change and so, opportunity.

Return of the Crimson Guard: Novels of the Malazan Empire, Book 2

The return of the mercenary company, the Crimson Guard, could not have come at a worse time for a Malazan Empire exhausted by warfare and weakened by betrayals and rivalries. Indeed, there are those who wonder whether the Empress Laseen might not be losing her grip on power as she faces increasing unrest as conquered kingdoms and principalities sense freedom once more.

Stonewielder: Novels of the Malazan Empire, Book 3

Greymane believed he'd outrun his past. With his school for swordsmanship in Falar, he was looking forward to a quiet life, although his colleague Kyle wasn't as enamored with life outside the mercenary company, the Crimson Guard. However, it seems it is not so easy for an ex-Fist of the Malazan Empire to disappear, especially one under sentence of death from that same Empire.

The Tyranny of the Night: The Instrumentalities of the Night, Book 1

Welcome to the world of the Instrumentalities of the Night, where imps, demons, and dark gods rule in the spaces surrounding upstart humanity. At the edges of the world stand walls of ice which push slowly forward to reclaim the land for the night. And at the world's center, in the Holy Land where two great religions were born, are the Wells of Ihrain, the source of the greatest magics.

Dancer's Lament: Path to Ascendancy, Book 1

Esslemont's all-new prequel trilogy takes readers deeper into the politics and intrigue of the New York Times bestselling Malazan Empire. Dancer's Lament focuses on the genesis of the empire, and features Dancer, the skilled assassin, who, alongside the mage Kellanved, would found the Malazan empire.

Gardens of the Moon: The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dreaded Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out.

Doomstalker: Darkwar, Book 1

The world grows colder with each passing year, the longer winters and ever-deepening snows awaking ancient fears within the Dengan Packstead, fears of invasion by armed and desperate nomads, attack by the witchlike and mysterious Silth, able to kill with their minds alone, and of the Grauken, that desperate time when intellect gives way to buried cannibalistic instinct, when meth feeds upon meth.

Reign of Madness: King's Dark Tidings, Book 2

Equipped with skills far beyond those of the outworlders, Rezkin has been suddenly thrust into a foreign world. The young warrior clings to his only known purpose as he continues his search for any information about his identity and the reason for his existence. While the hardened warrior scorns both dueling and tournaments, he believes some of the answers he seeks may be found at the King's Tournament, the greatest dueling championship in all of the kingdoms.

The Blood Mirror

When does an empire fall? The Seven Satrapies have collapsed into four - and those are falling before the White King's armies. Gavin Guile, ex-emperor, ex-Prism, ex-galley slave, formerly the one man who might have averted war, is now lost, broken, and trapped in a prison crafted by his own hands to hold a great magical genius. But Gavin has no magic at all. Worse, in this prison Gavin may not be alone.

Free the Darkness: King's Dark Tidings, Book 1

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Sinners

With New Orleans out of control, Chad Oliver Gardenier, one of Monster Hunter International's premier hunters, has been dispatched from Seattle to reinforce the beleaguered members of MHI'S Hoodoo Squad in their fight against the darkness.

The Swordbearer

A young boy's dreams of glory and war turn into a bitter nightmare as his father's kingdom is overrun by an invading army. Lost and alone in the woods, he finds an ancient sword that promises him the ability to claim his vengeance. As he begins to take that vengeance, he comes to realize the price that the sword will demand of him. Enemies soon become allies and strange bedfellows abound as the prophesies of an age swirl into chaos.

The Wheel of Osheim

All the horrors of Hell stand between Snorri Ver Snagason and the rescue of his family, if indeed the dead can be rescued. For Jalan Kendeth, getting back out alive and with Loki's key is all that matters. Loki's creation can open any lock, any door, and it may also be the key to Jalan's fortune back in the living world. Jalan plans to return to the three w's that have been the core of his idle and debauched life: wine, women, and wagering. Fate, however, has other plans - larger plans.

The Blade Itself

Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.

A Shadow of All Night Falling: Dread Empire, Book 1

Across the mountains called the Dragon's Teeth, beyond the chill reach of the Werewind and the fires of the world's beginning, above the walls of the castle Fangdred, stands Windtower. From this lonely keep the Star Rider calls forth the war that even wizards dread, fought for a woman's hundred-lifetime love. A woman called Nepanthe, princess to the Stormkings…

The Emperor's Blades: Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1

In The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

Publisher's Summary

She is the last hope of good in the war against the evil sorceress known as the Lady. From a secret base on the Plains of Fear, where even the Lady hesitates to go, the Black Company, once in service to the Lady, now fights to bring victory to the White Rose. But now an even greater evil threatens the world. All the great battles that have gone before will seem a skirmishes when the Dominator rises from the grave.

There is a weightiness to the events of The White Rose that make it feel like it could have been the last book in the series--albeit with a few loose ends here and there. And things have changed quite a bit from the feel of the first book-for better or worse. In a way, I much prefer the tone of the original, despite it's flaws.

It isn't that The White Rose isn't good, it's in fact very good. It's that it has moved so far from the cynical military fantasy that it was in the first and most of the second book. Starting with the end of Shadows Linger the series has shifted ever closer to the traditional epic fantasy. The characters, who used to be pretty rotten, have had most of their grit pruned out, and seem more heroic with every page. Well, maybe that's just character development. Croaker has also become increasingly important, and the Lady's interest in him has only increased over the years.

Perspective shifting continues in Shadows Linger, which this time around give us some much wanted insight into the back story of the Lady and her empire. In fact, the most interesting part of the book this time around are the messages containing the decoded history of the wizard Bowmanz.

Other than all that, there's more fun antics with One-Eye and Goblin, some interesting but strange new creatures and characters, and ship-baiting galore between Croaker and you know who. Oh and the continued deconstruction of Raven is always so very tickling.

Not much new to be said about the performance. Marc Vietor is still the perfect Croaker. Enjoy his narration while it lasts.

Glenn Cook is considered one of the original standard bearers of the grimdark fantasy subgenre. The first three books of his Black Company series were written in the 1980s, and while likely cutting edge at the time, they have since been eclipsed by far more complex and well written stories. This series still offers an original take on the overarching fantasy genre, not following the Tolkien style storylines that so many fantasy authors of this era did, it presents a confused world of dark magic and mysterious characters. However, the plot, character development, and world-building may lack the depth to satisfy readers more used to modern tales such as those written by George R R Martin and his ilk. Marc Vietor brings this series to life with his reading style. He rarely confuses character voices, and it is my guess that had I read these first three books (which comprise one, complete story arc) instead of listening to them, I would have been thoroughly disappointed considering the high praise The Black Company series receives from so many online fantasy series reviewers. All in all I recommend checking out these stories and doing so by listening to them as Mark Vietor has performed them here. However, anyone who has read anything in the grimdark or larger fantasy genres that was written in the past decade will need to temper their expectations in order to find enjoyment.

I appreciated the narrators consistent use of voices and I liked how they differed enough to be recognizable. Good Talent. The story is a good one. Glen cook is a good, gritty-military, fantasy writer.

A fantastic ending to the initial trilogy of the Black Company. Trilogy endings can sometimes be a bit underwhelming but it certainly wasn’t an issue here.

Story – 5/5

The White Rose, in my opinion, incorporated some of the best bits from each of the first 2 novels. It took the large scale epic fights and battles against overwhelming forces from the first, and the split narration/character building from the second. Glen Cook has developed something special here, and I would recommend all fantasy fans to read it.

The fights, the discoveries and build-up were all told masterfully. GC’s concise, but rich, writing allowed for a great pace, but an easy to follow story. Some may say that he doesn’t describe things enough, but I personally found this refreshing. He just gives you what you need to keep the story flowing smoothly.

The fantasy elements are quite different from what I am used to. These, along with the grey moral areas and strong military point of view, are what help to make this series stand out. As this was written in the ‘80’s, you can tell that it has influenced a lot of modern fantasy since, and it definitely doesn’t incorporate the Tolkien clichés that seems quite common in this genre

I expected a lot from the ending, and I got more. It gives good enough closure if you want to stop here, or have a break from the Black Company for a while. If you enjoyed it as much as me though, you will be left wanting more, and I will not be delaying to download book 4.

Performance – 4.5/5

Marc Vietor turned out to be an excellent narrator. All of character acting was distinguishable and I felt that throughout the trilogy, he aged each of the characters voices (to represent the many years that the trilogy spanned), which a really nice touch. His narration also suits the dark tone of the story.

Don’t be put off if you didn’t enjoy him hugely in the first novel. I had some issues, but found that he grew on me as I continued to listen.

Overall – 5/5

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